Just Listen
by Cherie Dennis
Summary: Brooke Davis seemed to have everything... [full summary inside] AU. Brucas romance. Baley friendship. Possible other pairings. Please read!
1. Just Listen

**Just Listen**

**This story is going to be a Brucas story, inspired by the book _Just Listen_ by Sarah Dessen. Great book and I suggest you read it. She is a wonderful author. Anyways! Back to the story…**

Title: Just Listen.

Author: Cherie Dennis.

Summary: Brooke Davis seemed to have everything: she was head of the cheerleading squad, was one of the most popular girls at Tree Hill High, decent grades, a 'perfect' family and a job at a clothing store where she could sell some of her own designs. But in an hour's time, she soon found her entire world crumbling around her. In the last month of the summer before her senior year, Brooke finds her entire world being turned upside down. Now she's dreading going back to school, afraid of the fact that what transpired between her and one of her closest friends got around.

Finding herself lost in a sea of confusion and fear, a hand reaches out and pulls her back to reality. A new reality that she never thought she would become a part of. With a budding new friendship from a very unlikely source, and a romance with an even more unlikely person, can Brooke find herself a new life with the people who come to mean the most? Or will her past come forth, ruining everything she built?

Rating: I'm going to go with T, but it may change.

Pairings: It will be focused on a Baley friendship, a Brucas romance, perhaps with some other friendships and romances thrown in for good measure.

Disclaimer: I don't own OTH. I don't own _Just Listen_.

This is going to be an AU fic. I might, eventually, have Naley come together, but I haven't decided yet. Most of the characters will be seen, though; Rachel, Mouth, Skillz, Bevin, Karen, Dan, Deb… You name it, they'll probably be in here.

**Prologue:**

Friends come and go, but I always thought Rachel, Peyton and I would be the same, almost-sister-like people we always were. Everyone would tell you the same thing; we were stuck together at the hip. That's how it used to be, anyways.

Then one day –well, one night- everything changed. Suddenly Rachel wasn't talking to me. Or answering my calls. No one else on the team would even acknowledge me when they saw me. It was like I was an alien or something.

So now, with school starting in just a few days, I'm faced with the scariest thing of my life; not only am I starting my senior year, but I'm starting all over again. My whole world, in one of the worst summers in history, has been ripped apart.

I'm going to see high school from the other side – from the sidelines of all those losers I used to make fun of. The worst thing about that, however, is the fact that even the losers won't talk to me.

What's a girl to do when the world turns its back on her?

* * *

_That's probably one of the worst prologues in the history of writing, but hopefully you guys understand what the story's going to be about. If not, you'll just have to read and see! And please, please, please give me feedback! Anything at all! From saying "Good job!" to telling me what I should improve on. Anything! And, like my other stories, it's going to be third-person, not first._

_Reviews?_


	2. A Helping Hand

_Not too sure if I like this chapter, but it'll do for now. Enjoy! _

* * *

School. It was always something Brooke Davis lived for. Not necessarily the books or the homework, but the social aspect of school. Just three months ago she was the head of the cheerleading squad and one of the most popular girls at school. But as she stood in front of Tree Hill High, she couldn't ignore the empty, sick feeling in her stomach.

Students passed by her, not even giving the brunette a second glance, and she couldn't help feeling completely rejected. She used to own this school, and just the sight of her used to make everyone stop in their tracks. She was respected, admired, loved. Now she was just another body in the sea of losers.

Running a hand over the messy ponytail on the back of her head, Brooke let out a heavy sigh. Her eyes glanced over the front of the school, looking for someone who might want to talk to her. She was met with glares from the cheerleaders standing a few feet from her. Rachel Gatina said something, causing the other girls to focus their attention on her again. They all glanced over at Brooke again before laughing hysterically.

The brunette gripped the strap of her backpack tighter, willing herself not to run away. Don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they got to you, she thought to herself. With a shallow breath, she looked back to the front doors of the school. "Well," she said beneath her breath, "here goes nothing."

After smoothing down the skinny, dark-wash jeans she wore, Brooke made her way to the door, focusing on the sound of her heels clicking against the cement instead of the laughs that followed behind her. She pulled open the door and stepped inside, letting it close behind her before she took another step.

As she approached her new locker, a sense of loneliness washed over her. Normally this would be the time when all her friends would come up behind her and ask for all the new gossip that the summer brought. Or she'd catch up with those who vacationed outside of Tree Hill for the past three months. Or she'd cheer up the cheerleaders who lost their boyfriends the night before. Or she'd inform them when practice would be and what date she decided to hold the try outs on.

Spinning the lock and then pulling her locker open, Brooke blinked away a pool of tears in her eyes. "Don't do this," she whispered to herself, "you'll be perfectly fine. You don't need them." She slid her backpack off her shoulders and held it in front of her, unzipping the bag quickly.

After shoving the currently empty binders into the metal box, she grabbed the one she would need for her first class and shut the door. Brooke glanced over her shoulder at the sound of Rachel's laugh, catching sight of Peyton beside her. The blonde looked over at her, and the brunette quickly looked away.

She made her way down the hallway, making sure to keep a few steps behind the cheerleaders. She paused at the water fountain, slurping down a little water before her first class. The liquid didn't help her dry mouth, though.

Holding the binder to her chest, Brooke made her way to her first class. She pulled open the door and stepped inside, ignoring the stares of several of the students already seated. She knew what they were thinking. Usually she was never early to class, especially on the first day. And if she was even close to being on time, she had at least three girls following behind her, chattering away like little monkeys.

Keeping her eyes focused on the floor, she made her way to the back of the classroom, getting situated in one of the empty seats. She opened up her binder, pulling the pencil from the front pocket and began sketching a dress design. Even though she didn't get to sell her clothes anymore, making a plan for her next 'Big Hit' was always calming.

The desk beside her suddenly moved, scratching against the floor. Keeping her eyes on the paper in front of her, Brooke made no effort to acknowledge the person beside her. If only the girl who sat down would've been as courteous…

"Hi," she said cheerily, "I'm Haley James."

Brooke caught sight of the extended hand in the corner of her eye. Letting out a soft breath, she shifted in her seat and took the hand, shaking it politely. "Brooke Davis."

"It's nice to meet you," Haley said as she pulled out a pack of gum. She took out a piece and unwrapped it, then stuck it into her mouth and held the pack out to Brooke.

"No thanks," the brunette mumbled, her eyes looking back towards her design. She picked up her pencil again, finishing the bodice of the gown. She could sense that Haley wanted to continue the conversation, but the teacher walked in before she had the chance.

**---- **

After a mind-numbing hour of droning from the teacher about Calculus, the bell finally rang. Brooke gathered her things and made her way out of the room. She was spinning the lock on her locker before she realized someone had followed her.

She glanced over her shoulder, regretting it instantly as she caught sight of the curly-blonde hair. "Peyton," she said coldly as she turned her attention back to the locker. She exchanged binders and slammed the door shut.

"Rachel wants your uniform back," the blonde said, her arms crossed over her chest. Her hazel eyes were slits behind her squinted eyelids, glaring as Brooke turned around.

"Who says I'm not on the squad anymore?" the brunette challenged. Her friends could turn their backs on her, but she wasn't about to give up being head cheerleader.

"Rachel does. The girls voted her as the new captain. No one wants a skank like you to be representing the cheerleaders," Peyton said before turning around to leave.

Brooke caught the girl's arm before she had the chance to walk off. She forcefully spun the girl around, her own eyes blazing with anger. "You have no right to call me that," she hissed between clenched teeth.

The blonde, un-phased by the angry girl in front of her, leaned close to Brooke's ear. "Sweetie," she whispered, "you deserve to be called every name there is for what you did to Rachel." She stepped back with a happy smile on her face.

The brunette raised her hand, and before she had time to think, her ex-friend was standing before her, tears in her eyes as she held her reddened cheek. The guilt surged through Brooke, but she stood her ground, glaring at the blonde as she turned away and walked off.

She let out a heavy breath as she leaned back against her locker, her fingers rubbing her temple in a slow circle. Not even lunch and Brooke had already lost her cool. She closed her eyes, trying to get the sudden headache to disappear.

"Hey," said a voice beside her, "are you okay?"

Brooke opened her eyes and turned her head, glancing over at Haley. She forced a smile and nodded some, pushing herself off her locker with her foot. "Great," she said as they started walking down the hall. The brunette took note of the many books in the girl's arms.

Though she didn't believe it, Haley gave a small nod. "What's your next class?" she asked, shifting her books to her other arm.

"Advanced chem.," Brooke replied, rolling her eyes. "Suicide 101," she joked.

"No way! I have that, too." The excitement in Haley's voice was obvious, and Brooke silently wondered if the girl had had many friends. "You can sit with Lucas, Mouth and I."

Brooke faintly recognized the names. Lucas Roe was infamous on campus for his bad attitude. He'd gotten into a many fights with Nathan Scott, and though the rumors were all interesting, she never found out the real reason for it. And Mouth McFadden was a loser she teased all the time. But the fact that Haley was willing to let her sit with them seemed like a decent enough offer. Besides, she certainly wasn't going to be sitting with the popular crowd anymore.

As they walked into the classroom, Brooke could feel the eyes on her again. She glanced over at a few of the cheerleaders. Bevin was sitting with her long-time boyfriend, Skillz, who used to be friends with the "River Court Crew," as they were called. This included two of the people the brunette was now going to sit with.

Rachel was sitting there as well, nuzzled up to her new boyfriend, Tim Smith. The sight of him caused Brooke's stomach to churn and she glanced away quickly. Her eyes fell on Haley, who was attempting to hide her ogling of Nathan Scott, one of Brooke's ex-friends. He was the only one who actually acknowledged her, but she knew that they could never been seen talking in public. At least, not if he wanted to stay popular.

Lucas and Mouth both looked up from their books just as Haley and Brooke were approaching. Almost matching scowls came to their faces as they noticed who their friend had brought.

"Hales," Lucas said, more a threat than a greeting.

"Luke," she countered with a voice just as threatening.

Mouth turned in his seat to face the front of the room, his eyes returning to his book. Brooke took the seat in front of Lucas, turning timidly to face him and Haley. She gave the boy a small smile, her stomach twisting into a nervous knot at the sight of his blue eyes, currently cold with anger. She had no doubt that Mouth told him about the things that she said.

"This," Haley said, pulling all three pairs of eyes onto her, "is Brooke Davis. She's going to sit with us today, so you two had better be nice." She gave the brunette and encouraging smile before getting prepared for the class.

"Hi," Brooke said in a small voice. She glanced from Lucas to Mouth and back again. She gave them another small smile before turning around her in seat. She could still feel Lucas's eyes burning into her back.

The bell rang and the students made their way to their seats. Brooke stole a glance at her old friends again, feeling a wave of loneliness wash over her. Nathan glanced over, giving her a small smirk before looking away. The small gesture made her heart ache even more.

She glanced over her shoulder at Haley, pen in hand, and ready to take notes. It's the first day, Brooke thought, is she that crazy? She bit her bottom lip before looking over at Mouth, seeing him still reading his book in his lap. She then took in a breath before looking back at Lucas. Her breath caught in her throat as his eyes met hers, looking just a little kinder than before.

The brunette quickly turned back around, grabbing her pencil. Brooke ignored her shaking hand as she stared down at the paper before her. She could feel Lucas's eyes on her again, and she quickly started sketching another design, hoping to calm herself.

**---- **

Brooke had grown bored with drawing half way through the class and decided to put her head down on her desk. She was watching Mouth, who was still reading, and found herself feeling more comfortable in her surroundings. She'd almost forgotten about her old friends sitting just a few rows away from her.

Then, as if out of thin air, a piece of folding paper appeared on the corner of her desk. She hadn't even seen the hand that placed it there, and she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming in surprise. She sat up again and unfolded the paper in her lap, reading over the scrawled message:

_Sorry about the rudeness before. I'm not used to people intruding in on my life. Hales said you're pretty cool, though, so I'll give you a shot._

Brooke glanced back at Lucas, who was listening to his iPod. His blue eyes glanced towards her, their gaze locking for a moment before she turned back around. She picked up her pencil, smoothed the paper on her desk and wrote a reply:

_I'm used to people being rude these days, so it's nothing to worry about. And I didn't mean to intrude, but it's kind of hard to say no to Haley. _

She folded the note back up and reached her hand back, placing it onto Lucas's desk. She then played with her pencil, the words of the teacher barely registering in her mind. The sound of a soft chuckle behind her made a smile come to her face.

Brooke glanced over her shoulder at Haley, who was scribbling away notes as she listened intently to the teacher. She glanced up at the feel of eyes on her and gave the brunette a smile before returning to her notes.

Her eyes shifted over to Mouth again, who had finally closed his book and set it down on the desk. He looked over at her, raising an eyebrow in question. Brooke gave him a smile before mouthing, "Sorry," to him. Though she was sure he still didn't like her, he gave her a smile and shook his head before turning his attention to the front of the room.

Maybe these three people weren't so bad.

* * *

_Review, please? _


	3. Lifetime Piling Up

Sorry this took me so long to update! I'll try to be better, but I'm leaving for a week, so it'll be atleast a week and a half before the next update. Thanks to all of you who have been interested in this story, and I hope you all still are. Don't be afraid to leave a review, even if it's saying you like the story.

Thanks to Miranda for betaing this on such short notice, and getting it back to me quickly. Much love from me to her.

* * *

The next two classes flew by for Brooke. There was the obvious staring from all the students, the ones who wondered –but didn't dare ask- what happened to her. The cheerleaders and their jock boyfriends ignored her. She tried her best not to let it get to her, but by the bell at the end of fourth period she couldn't get out of the classroom quick enough.

As she made her way down the hall the whispers started. "Slut," she heard a girl whisper as she passed by, obviously directed in her direction. The brunette offered a smile to another girl, but she simply got a glare in response. Then, after the girl had passed, she heard, "Disgusting."

She knew that she couldn't just turn around and run, that would be giving them what they wanted. But God, did she want to. Clutching her books to her chest Brooke finally reached her locker. She quickly spun the combination lock and pulled the door open only to see a piece of paper flutter to the ground.

She reached down, taking it into her shaking hands. She slid her binder into her locker and stared at the note, afraid to open it. What if it was from Rachel? Or Peyton? She could feel the chunks of her breakfast rising in her throat.

Taking a deep breath she pulled open the notebook paper, seeing the familiar writing scrawled over the lines. A soft, relieved sigh escaped her lips. The note was from someone who didn't want her dead – Nathan.

_Just so you know_, he wrote, _they're planning on egging your car tonight. You might want to put the Bugger into the garage for safe keeping. And Bear? I'm here for you if you ever need me. That's what brother-type figures are for, right?_

Brooke clutched the paper to her chest, quickly blinking away the tears from her eyes. She glanced down the hallway, catching sight of Nathan leaning against his locker. As if sensing her presence, he looked her way and gave her a wink.

She gave him a smile before shutting her locker. She folded the paper and slid it into her back pocket, surprised at how much better she felt. With a new-found confidence she made her way to the cafeteria, now able to ignore the taunts better than before.

Her brown eyes scanned the tables, already packed with students. She made sure not to look at her old table, certain that she would find Rachel and her posse enjoying their lunches. That is, if dry salad and fat-free yogurt counted as lunch.

Just then, a pair of waving hands caught her attention. Brooke stood there for a moment, staring at Haley as she waved her hands a little higher. She turned on her heel and quickly left the cafeteria, ignoring the confused look that had come to the girl's face.

She couldn't be seen with Haley James at lunch. It was one thing to sit in class with her, but she knew that if she was seen socializing with her. It would just give the bitch squad more to gossip about. Her fingers ached as she gripped onto her books, her feet moving quicker beneath her. She had to get out of the school at least for the lunch hour. Sure Brooke was nice to everyone, but she had a reputation to uphold. At least she had to try to do so. From the looks of it Rachel and her little posse were doing a great job of destroying it.

She pushed the door open and stepped outside, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. She felt a little calmer now, but she still needed to get off campus. So with her books in hand, she headed towards her car. The sight of the back end silvery blue and glistening made her shoulders relax that much more. The sight of the driver's side, however, caused her to double over, emptying her stomach onto the asphalt below her.

The paint, as shiny and new as it was the day her father bought the car, had been keyed. Not in the general, boring line across the metal, but in delicately arched angry letters. 'Skank bitch' seemed to scream at her from the car and Brooke squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She could feel the tears burning her eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks, but she forced them back. She couldn't let them see her cry and she knew they were watching, probably from behind one of their fancy, expensive cars.

"She's not very original, is she?"

The brunette's eyes shot open at the sound of the male's voice. It was familiar, one that seemed to follow her everywhere and she had to fight the urge to hurl again. She swallowed hard, wincing slightly at the bitter aftertaste and stood on shaky legs. She brushed the dirt from her body and with an attempt at a confident flip of her hair, turned to face Tim.

"What do you want, Smith?"

"Just came to see how you were doing," he said. A smug smile crept onto his lip, and Brooke focused on not gagging.

"Leave me alone, Dim," she choked out before turning back to her car. She tried her best to ignore the scratched surface, but her eyes traveled over the words again.

"Come on, Brookie. Don't be like that!"

She gripped her books in her hands, ready to throw them at his ugly face. Who did he think he was to be throwing her nickname around like that? Brooke turned on her heel again, now furious.

"Leave me alone! If you ever talk to me again, I swear I'll report your ass."

Tim laughed at her, one hand on his stomach as if he were going to split open in sheer delight. "Like they'd believe a slut like you!" He turned on his heel then, bored with the conversation and walked away.

Brooke spun back around and stalked over to her car, her hands shaking in anger. He was such a scum bag! She slipped her purse off her shoulder, searched for the keys and quickly hit the button to unlock the doors of her car. She wrenched open the door and turned on the engine. As she buckled herself in, she peeled out of the parking lot. Had she not seen the boy standing in her path, Brooke would've sped out off campus and headed straight home. But Lucas was standing there, making no indication that he was going to walk across the intersection. She pressed her hand onto the middle of the steering wheel and honked her horn for a moment, watching as he looked over at her, uninterested.

After a moment he walked over to her car and pulled open the passenger side door. "What the hell?" Brooke demanded, but he ignored her and sat down, pulling the seatbelt across his body. "Get out of my car!" She smacked him across the bicep and he flinched slightly before turning to face her.

"You said you'd make an effort for Haley. Besides, you're the one who just left her sitting in the cafeteria. She was devastated. So you either go back in there," he said, thumb pointed towards the school. "Or you let me go with you."

The scowl that came to Brooke's face would've been enough to get any other guy to run away like a scared little dog, but Lucas just sat there watching her. After a minute she finally let out an irritated breath and pressed her foot hard down onto the gas pedal, peeling out of the parking lot again.

"Only on one condition," she said, despite the fact that the car was already zooming towards her house. "No hitting on me and don't try to pry into my life. This is just so that Tutor Girl won't slit her wrists over my attitude problem." She knew what she had said was mean, but right now she didn't care. And the slightly pained expression on Lucas's face, even though it was only there for a brief second, didn't affect Brooke at all. She was focused on one thing - getting her life back into order.

If there was one thing Brooke Davis was sick of, it was guys. And that wasn't something she got sick of easily.


End file.
